One of These Days
by Demosthenes23
Summary: Murdoch finds himself reliving the same day over and over again. Takes place during The Tesla Effect.
1. Chapter 1

**So I got the idea from a fellow fanfictioner over on the Pride and Prejudice spot, who in turn got the idea from the movie Groundhog Day, which was inspired by a 1987 book entitled Replay. So I got the idea from a fellow fanfictioner over on the Pride and Prejudice spot, who in turn go the idea from the movie Groundhog Day, which was inspired by a 1987 book entitled Replay.**

* * *

After great agitation of mind and body, Murdoch relaxed into a blissful slumber. Once he had determined his next course of action, all of his inner turmoil was lifted like a storm cloud after the rain, leaving only rainbows in its wake. If all went according to plan, tomorrow would be the most momentous day of his life.

His internal clock roused him a moment before his alarm clock went off. He turned it off with a smile across his face and hopped out of bed. There was much to do and he didn't want to waste a single moment of it.

Within ten minutes he was dressed and shaved, with a new coating of grease on his head, and nary a hair out of place. Homburg at the ready, he walked rapidly through the boarding house, ignoring Mrs. Kitchen's call to breakfast and straight out the front door. He got on his trusty bicycle and headed to his destination, _Mandel's Fine Jewelry_, about two kilometres from his residence, or about as far away as the ride to the station house every morning, but in opposite directions. This particular store had the finest, yet affordable jewelry Toronto had to offer and he had browsed its contents once before, about a month ago. There had been a ruby ring there that had grabbed his attention, that he thought Julia would love. He hoped it was still there and chastised himself for not purchasing it sooner. But he had had doubts. And now he didn't. It was as simple as that.

Apparently he had been overly hasty in getting here for the store was not yet open. He tapped his toe impatiently and continuously checked his pocket watch, growing more and more irritated with every second. Eight o'clock struck and the store still hadn't opened.

_Where the devil is he?_ he thought darkly.

Then as if his ill tempered thought had summoned the proprietor, a man appeared out the side of his vision and stuck a key in the lock. Murdoch bustled in right after the man, startling him.

"In a rush are we, sir?" he said with a knowing smile that served to annoy Murdoch.

Not in the mood for pleasantries he scoured the display case and replied, "The ruby ring, do you still have it?"

The man gave him an amused look. "I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific than that, sir. For instance, what kind of metal was the band? Gold or silver?"

"Silver."

"And was there ornamentation around the ruby? Or was it fixed in a plain setting?"

"There were some small diamonds around it."

The jeweller was thoughtful. "I have two such ruby rings currently."

"I don't see them," he said, looking in the exact same spot as his previous visit. "It was right here last time!"

"I move things around, sir. Whatever is selling gets moved up to the front. The rubies haven't been selling so I put them back here."

The jeweller retrieved the rings in question and held them out to him in their respective cases. "Is this what you were looking for?"

He recognized his chosen ring instantly and pointed repeatedly. "That one! That is the very one!"

"Wonderful, sir," replied the smiling man. Murdoch had taken out his wallet. "I take it you would like to purchase right now?"

"Yes, how much is it?"

"Two hundred dollars, sir."

Murdoch's hand stalled momentarily before pulling out the entire wad of cash he had just taken out of his bank account. Two hundred dollars was the absolute upper limit of his budget. He thanked God it wasn't more than that or he didn't know what he would have done.

Engagement ring in hand, he shook the man's hand, thanking him profusely and headed out, admiring the ring all the while. Suddenly he had a vision of his accepted proposal and he smiled slightly to himself and closed the case.

* * *

As he approached the morgue however, his nerves began to take hold and the spring in his step lessened. He wiped his hands on his trousers, took off his hat and pushed open the door to his destiny. Julia was sitting behind her desk, reading. She looked up at him but didn't smile. He knew he had left her at the absolute worst possible moment last night but he was glad to be making amends for that presently. He would never leave her side again if he could help it.

She got up slowly and made her way to him.

"William, I didn't think I'd see you under the circumstances."

Something about those words struck him as odd but he shook it off.

He took her hand and gulped. "Julia, as long as you exist in this world, there will be no other woman for me."

She glanced away. "Oh, William, I know but-"

He raised a hand to silence her. "We can adopt." She appeared very surprised by this declaration and became even more so as he continued. "So many children need a good home. All I need is you."

He was about to bend at the knee when she incredulously said, "How did you find out?"

_Find out? _

"Find out what, Julia?"

"About my sterility." The words had come out very quietly.

It was Murdoch's turn to be surprised. "You told me yesterday."

She made a face at that and put her hands on her hips. "I most certainly did not. I think I would recall something like that."

They stood there staring at one another for a time, trying to figure the other out.

_Was this some sort of game she was playing? But why would she do such a thing?_

It was then that he realized she was wearing the same purple blouse as yesterday. In all their time together, she had never worn the same outfit two days running. Unlike himself, her wardrobe was too large to ever necessitate the need for recycling.

"Julia," he said slowly, "I don't know what is going on here but it doesn't matter in the slightest. What's important is that I _have_ learned the full truth and I accept it, " he caught her eye, "and still want you to become my wife."

She gasped as he bent down and held the silver case aloft. His hand trembled and he did his best to keep it steady. "Julia Ogden, will you marry me?"

A second of unendurable anguish and then her face broke out into the most beautiful smile. "Yes! Yes of course I'll marry you!"

He jumped up and embraced her. They laughed giddily as he placed the ring on her finger. Then they kissed for a time until her assistant interrupted them.

"Tonight we will celebrate properly."

"I'd love to William," she said giving him a quizzical look, "but are you sure you can spare the time?"

"All I've got is time."

_Now that you are mine._

She smiled seductively. "Well, in that case, I very much look forward to it."

"As do I."

One last heated kiss and he was out the door. He headed straight to the station house, excited to tell his fellow constables the wonderful news.

Even before he entered though, he knew something was amiss. There was a loud pounding coming from his office.

_What on earth could that be?_ he pondered as a dread began to creep into his stomach.

When he was closer and found Tesla and George hammering away at the metal microwave reflectors, he stopped in his tracks and had to steady himself against a desk.

"Sir, are you all right?" asked Hodge. "Sir?"

"Fine," he croaked out. "Just fine."

He collected himself as best he could and entered his office. George caught sight of him and stayed Tesla's hammering arm.

"Sir," he said, picking up a sheet of metal with many evenly spaced holes in it, "Mr. Tesla believes that these holes will scatter the incoming energy, yet still allow us to see through."

"Your constable has been an eager student."

When George began telling them the same impractical potato cooking room idea as yesterday, Murdoch just about lost his head and ran out of there.

_This can't be happening! This can't be real! I must still be dreaming!_

A minute later Henry came in and told them James Pendrick had escaped during transport. Murdoch's knees went weak again and he closed his eyes to stop the world from spinning.

"What do you want me to do, sir?" asked the constable.

Murdoch concentrated on breathing deeply and didn't respond.

"Sir," said George, "are you all right?"

When he opened them everyone was looking at him in a concerned manner, George more so than the others.

"Yes, George, I'm fine." He directed his gaze to Henry. "Go to the Pendrick estate. You'll find him there."

Henry seemed amused in his smug way. "No disrespect sir but why would Mr. Pendrick go someplace we could easily track him to after going to so much effort to escape police custody?"

"Because, Henry," he said annoyed, "he's searching for his wife. He thinks he'll find her there."

That reminded him, Sally Pendrick would still be at large! But he already knew where she was going to be and this whole nightmare could be sorted out much easier than the last time.

"Searching, sir?" said Henry. "Is Mrs. Pendrick missing then?"

"Just go fetch Mr. Pendrick and bring him back here!" he snapped, rubbing his head in agitation.

The constable left promptly after this uncharacteristic outburst. Murdoch turned to a startled George. "Take some men, go down to the old tannery. Sally Pendrick will be there, or very soon will be. Make sure to arm yourselves."

"Sally Pendrick, sir?" George expostulated.

"Yes, George. She is the mastermind behind the construction of the death ray, not her husband as I previously suspected."

A bewildered George didn't bother asking further questions like his colleague and turned to leave. Murdoch stopped him. "Neutralize her and her associates by any means necessary but be very careful to avoid the death ray's beam. If she starts the device up, take cover behind the metal beams there and shoot it until it no longer functions."

George nodded once.

Tesla was eyeing him morosely after the second constable left. "I take it my services are no longer required then, detective?"

"Not at all, Mr. Tesla. Please keep at this. It's possible your shield may still be of service."

Tesla's face brightened again and Murdoch too left through the side door as the hammering commenced anew. He slumped against the wall and put his head in his hands. He had an almost overwhelming desire to sleep. This reprieve was short lived for the inspector had caught sight of him. Murdoch glanced up at his query.

"What's happened?" Brackenreid barked. He glared at the door. "And what is that goddamn racket?!"

Murdoch tremulously pushed himself into a standing position. "Mr. Tesla is assisting us in our investigation."

"Are you feeling unwell, Murdoch? You look terrible."

"I'm fine, sir, just a little uneasy."

"Can't blame you. That unholy noise is setting my teeth on edge!" Brackenreid eyed the station house distastefully and then eyed him. "I don't suppose there's any point in asking, Murdoch, but would you like to get a pint with me?"

It was only nine o'clock in the morning.

"I would like nothing more, sir."

Anything to ease his mind.

"Typical...wait! You're accepting?! Bloody hell! I never thought I'd live to see the day!" He put his arm around Murdoch's shoulders. "Well come along then, me old mucker!"

* * *

Beers in hand they made their way through the empty pub to a central table. Murdoch began chugging his spruce beer even before they had sat down. The inspector was giving him an odd look and he controlled his urges better.

"All right, Murdoch. Are you going to tell me what's troubling you now?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, sir."

Brackenreid appeared to take offense to that. "I've got a fantastically open mind, Murdoch! If I didn't I would have canned you years ago! You're a bloody nuisance with all of your experiments and whatnot."

"I appreciate the faith, sir, but this matter is rather hard to swallow. I can hardly fathom it myself."

"Fine then," Brackenreid grumbled, "don't confide in me. Where are we on the bloody Pendrick affair?"

Murdoch told him without really thinking about it. Brackenreid was now bewildered, like everyone around him seemed to be.

"Sally Pendrick! All this time it was the goddamn wife! Bloody hell!" he said with a chuckle. "You sure were swindled Murdoch." A pause. "How did you figure all that out anyway?"

Murdoch took a big swig while he frantically searched for a simple explanation. After he had almost drained his glass he said, "Oh, Mrs. Pendrick knew we were searching for a Pendrick building. Her husband did not. Therefore she had to be involved. It was the only logical conclusion."

Brackenreid laughed. "Hard to believe you overlooked something so obvious. But I suppose whatever has been on your mind these past few days has been doing a right job of distracting you."

The detective realized his superior's assessment was correct. After Julia had told him she was thinking of leaving for Buffalo he had found it hard to focus. That reminded him...

"Sir, I have some wonderful news to share with you." Murdoch grinned stupidly. "Dr. Ogden has agreed to be my wife."

His boss froze mid sip and then, "Bloody hell, Murdoch! You're just full of surprises today!"

They had another beer in celebration and then returned to the station house. Murdoch felt a bit inebriated but did his best not to let it show. Terrence Meyers was waiting for them in the inspector's office. The government agent did not look happy.

"Where the devil have you two been!?" Meyers glared at a wobbly Murdoch. "Is he _drunk_?" Meyers glared at the inspector. "Glad to see you have been taking this threat to national security seriously, inspector!"

"Don't get your knickers in a knot, Meyers. We've got everything under control. As we speak my men are neutralizing the situation."

Murdoch chuckled slightly at the inspector's parroting of his own words. Meyers glared at him.

"Well, they better be! The death ray has been sold and will be shipped out to God knows where come sunrise! If it gets away from us, gentlemen, many innocents will die!"

Meyers stormed out of his office.

"Prick," muttered the inspector.

Though Murdoch's head was pleasantly buzzing he did his best to remember what was supposed to happen next. Yesterday George had given him an update on Sally Pendrick's whereabouts and then he had spoken with Mr. Pendrick himself in his office. Neither of those men were here currently. Henry was frequently slow at completing tasks but even he shouldn't have taken so long to return with Mr. Pendrick. Had Henry gotten lost and then missed catching Mr. Pendrick at the mansion? Was he still out there looking for the wrongly imprisoned fugitive?

Murdoch wasn't going to go on a wild goose chase in his current condition but he figured he might as well check out the Pendrick grounds since he didn't have anything else to do.

Wisely he took a carriage there instead of attempting to bicycle. The transport carriage Henry had taken was still sitting outside of the entrance.

_How odd._

Murdoch pushed open the unlocked door and had a profound sense of deja vu. The mansion was empty just as it had been yesterday. You could hear a pin drop. Clearly no one was home. But they had to be since the carriage was still out front. That same sense of dread from earlier that morning took hold as he tiptoed up the stairs through the eerie silence.

He pushed open Sally Pendrick's bedroom door and stood horrified at the sight before him, instantly sobered. Henry lay dead in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the chest. The murder weapon was by his side. James Pendrick was nowhere to be found.

A terrible pounding in his skull forced him into a kneeling position.

How had this unforeseen calamity occurred? Pendrick was no murderer! Had he unwittingly been the author of Henry's demise?

For an unknown length of time he just stared at Henry's unseeing eyes. Then he called the station house and requested a morgue pickup.

Julia arrived and embraced him.

"This is all my fault," he lamented over and over again.

"Hush now, William. This is not your fault. You are just in shock."

He continued to object to her assessment so she led him out of there and then far too quickly he found himself back at the station house, trying to explain that one of their own was gone forever. After the shock wore off, a manhunt for James Pendrick was quickly put underway with the remaining men.

Julia insisted that he go home and rest for a few hours. She accompanied him to his quarters and held him until he drifted off.

When he next awoke he was dismayed to find she was no longer there. Then he realized she was probably in the middle of Henry's autopsy. A lump started in his throat and he blinked back the tears. He just stared at the no longer gold flecked ceiling wondering how he would ever be able to look fondly on their engagement now that it was marred with such a tragedy.

He pulled back the covers and was surprised to find himself in his red pyjamas.

_Had Julia dressed him while he was asleep? _

Glancing out the window he noticed the sun was not very high in the sky. It should have been at it's peak by this time of day. He looked across his room and noticed the blueprints for the massive waggon on his desk. He never thought he'd be so happy to see them! (he attributed missing them yesterday to his utter focus on speedily dressing).

Thank God! If today was Tuesday yet again, it meant Henry was still alive! It also meant he was no longer engaged to Julia. But Murdoch was perfectly fine with this. There was plenty of time to propose again once Sally Pendrick was dealt with. And this time he would do things properly. He was quite determined that no one he cared about would die today.


	2. Chapter 2

No one he cared about had died the first Tuesday he lived through. Therefore his plan was simple. Allow the day to play out exactly as it had that first time. It would be a very long, very boring day in that case but it was the least he could do if it meant keeping Henry alive.

Murdoch dressed slowly and headed downstairs. Mrs. Kitchen called him to breakfast and begrudgingly he accepted her burnt toast and eggs. He washed the travesty down with a lot of water. Then he bicycled to work and took a deep breath as he entered the station house amidst the terrible hammering for the third time.

He listened as patiently as he could to George's potato cooking room idea and then pulled out the waggon blueprints for Tesla to inspect. Henry came in a short while later and Murdoch released a sigh of relief. He had a strong urge to touch the constable just to make sure he was indeed real but he restrained himself.

After all the orders had been given he went to the Pendrick mansion by bicycle to speak with James Pendrick. Considering what he had found yesterday he was hesitant to enter the large residence. But he forced himself to go up the stairs and into Sally Pendrick's bedroom. He counted down from five and then Pendrick made himself known from behind.

Murdoch pretended to be uneasy around the armed man while they conversed about his wife. Pendrick removed the bullets from the gun and they stuck to Sally's purse. Then (for Pendrick anyway) came the realization that his wife was the mastermind. Murdoch escorted Pendrick down to the station house by foot. Meyers exploded in both Brackenreid and his faces. George gave him the update about the search for Sally Pendrick. James Pendrick lamented about his confidence trickster of a wife.

"Even knowing what she is, I still love her."

Murdoch steadied himself for his conversation with Julia in the morgue. He was not eager to relive that particular part of the day over again.

"William, I didn't think I'd see you under the circumstances."

And then proceeded the most heartbreaking conversation of his life...little acting was required on his part. Seeing her so upset and vulnerable was enough to cause the tears to spring up. George interrupted at a crucial moment and he told her he was sorry but he had to go.

He confronted Sally. James Pendrick was shot in the shoulder. He chased after Sally in the microwave protected cart. Carnackie and the death ray device went up in flames. Sally escaped somehow. Beyond tired Murdoch went home and to bed.

* * *

When he awoke the next morning the first thing he did was check his desk for the waggon blueprints. They were there again.

_Confound it!_ he thought rubbing his forehead in agitation.

He didn't know how it was possible to be reliving Tuesday for the third time but here he was. Was this some sort of purgatory? Had he died on Tuesday during the death ray chase and simply couldn't remember? But why would he end up in purgatory? He was as devout a man as could be!

Religious notions aside...clearly he was required to meddle with the day to produce a different outcome, one in which no one he cared about died and something else happened as well. But what was _that_ exactly? It appeared he would now have to experiment with different scenarios until he appeased whatever, or whoever was keeping him here.

Being a methodical man he would tweak one variable per day in a systematic order until Wednesday finally arrived. If it ever did. But he refused to think of such a thing as it did little to help him achieve his goal.

So starting as early on as he could get, he assigned the constables their respective tasks and then did _not_ go looking for Pendrick at the mansion. Instead he went with Henry and pretended to search for Pendrick at various different locations. Not surprisingly they didn't find him. The rest of the day played out as normal until he received a report that Pendrick had been killed during his apprehension.

* * *

The next Tuesday he collected Pendrick himself, brought him down to the station and then told Meyers where he could find Sally Pendrick and her death ray device.

"How did you come to this knowledge, Murdoch?" Meyers asked suspiciously. "I have many men on this and none of them have the intelligence that you seem to have."

Brackenreid snickered at the agents unintentional dual meaning.

"I had Mr. Tesla produce a list of all the items required to build a transport waggon large enough for the device. Virtually all of them have been delivered to the old tannery over the past few months."

That was good enough for Meyers and he said, "The Canadian government thanks you for your valiant assistance, gentlemen. We'll handle matters from here."

"Like hell you will," barked Brackenreid. "We've been busting our humps for days trying to crack this case and now you're just going to waltz in here and take over?"

Meyers smiled. "Precisely, inspector. Glad to see you have comprehended matters so astutely."

With that the agent was gone. Brackenreid fumed. Murdoch allowed the rest of the day to pass by in a pleasant blur...that is until he received a report that several cooked bodies were found in the tannery.

* * *

He collected Pendrick, let Meyers rant but told him nothing, then took George and Henry and several other armed constables with him to the old tannery himself. Apparently they were here too early because Sally Pendrick and her henchmen were not yet in. The death ray machine was also nowhere to be found. They waited outside for several hours but she never showed up.

"I don't understand," he muttered to himself.

"Well, sir," said George, "perhaps the list Mr. Tesla prepared was not accurate?"

"No, that's not it. She should have come here."

They searched the surrounding area until dark but were unable to locate her. Meyers ranted at them again when he heard the news.

"Thanks to your incompetence a highly dangerous weapon is going to be used for ill repute!"

"_Our_ incompetence?!" exclaimed Brackenreid, squaring off against the agent. "You lot are the incompetent ones! If you were doing your bloody job properly this bloody death ray could never have been built in the first place!"

* * *

This Tuesday he immediately explained the situation to his men like he had that first time he relived this day but unlike that time, he took the men down to the old tannery straight away. He had deduced that Sally or one of her men had seen them staking out the place and consequently changed the location for their final preparations. This time they hid _inside_ the building and waited for her to appear with the death ray. She didn't disappoint.

"Hold it right there Mrs. Pendrick," he said, aiming his shotgun at her face.

The other constables followed suit, aiming at Carnackie, two other helpers and the death ray device itself.

Sally smiled at him. "What a pleasant surprise, detective."

"Step away from the machine with your hands above your head. You too Carnackie."

They were quite outnumbered but no one made a move to comply. Murdoch saw Carnackie's hand twitch towards some switches and he shot off to the side of his head. Carnackie and Sally shared a look and then descended from the death ray. The constables he brought with him handcuffed the villains and took them away. Meyers appeared soon after and congratulated him on a job well done. The agent was eyeing the death ray with intent interest.

"What will become of the device?"

Meyers glanced at him briefly before lighting a cigar. "I'm afraid that information is privileged, Murdoch."

Murdoch frowned. "Are you saying the government does _not_ intend to destroy this abomination?"

Hadn't the agent said that first night that even he believed that certain things shouldn't exist?

Meyers simply smiled and puffed on his cigar. "Go home and get some rest Murdoch. You've earned it."

"No I don't believe I will. I want some assurance that this device will be dealt with accordingly before I hand it off to you."

"This is a matter of national security, Murdoch. It doesn't concern you. As such your authority has been overridden. Go home."

He didn't see the point in arguing further so he left. But he didn't go home, he went to see Julia at the morgue for the first time in several Tuesdays, except she had already retired for the evening. He sighed and followed suit.

* * *

After another fruitless day he attempted to stay up all night and somehow bypass this time loop. This strategy failed miserably and at precisely sunrise the blueprints simply reappeared again on his desk, as if by magic.

* * *

Many more Tuesday's came and went, each as frustrating as the last. Today he found himself rather irritable. Nothing was working. Every time he meddled either someone died, Sally escaped with the death ray weapon or the government got a hold of the intact version for their own nefarious purposes. Clearly whatever was keeping him here did not approve of these outcomes, yet clearly he had to meddle. Fed up with this repeating day he simply stayed in bed until Mrs. Kitchen came knocking wondering if he was ill.

Murdoch forced himself out of bed to start his day late. Tesla had already been kicked out by Brackenreid but George was still there and proceeded to tell him all about the microwaves and his potato cooking room idea.

"Enough of that nonsense!" he snapped at the constable, pounding the desk. "I'm sick to death of hearing about it!"

George looked hurt and Murdoch was going to apologize but the constable had already left his office. Murdoch sighed and abandoned his duties all together. He didn't feel up to the task today, not by a long shot. It seemed like ages since he had last seen Julia so he went to the morgue. She was not particularly thrilled to see him and his mood darkened further.

"William, I didn't think I'd see you under the circumstances."

He closed his eyes in consternation and then said, "Julia, would you care to take a stroll with me in the park?"

"Are you sure you can spare the time?"

"All I have is time."

Now those words were highly ironic but he wasn't laughing.

She was hesitant but eventually took his arm. They walked in silence for awhile. He turned to her suddenly near a pond, startling her slightly.

"Julia," he said, taking her hands, "I don't want you to leave for Buffalo. I want you to stay here with me...because I love you with all my heart."

"Oh, William, I know..."

"Whatever it is you are keeping from me will not affect how I feel about you."

She glanced away. "I highly doubt that."

"Try me."

She proceeded to tell him about her sterility after he led her off the path to a secluded spot. When she was finished he lifted her hands to his lips. "You are so very lovely to me, Julia. This revelation does not change that." He smiled. "We can simply adopt when we are ready."

"Oh, William!" she exclaimed and hugged him with a tremendous amount of force. "You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that! I was certain I would lose you forever once I finally told you the truth!"

"That could never happen, Julia," he wheezed out. "Even if you had left for Buffalo I could never have stopped loving you."

"And I you."

They kissed for some time, events beginning to unfold in a similar vein to their Green Muse experimentation and then he escorted her back to the morgue. In a much better mood he headed into the station house. Brackenreid rounded on him for his lengthy absence.

"Nice of you to bloody well show up! It's not as though we have any pressing concerns to deal with!"

Murdoch simply smiled and told him what needed to be done. Then while the inspector was busy organizing the men he got into his whiskey stash and sat in the inspector's chair with his legs propped up on the desk.

He sipped at the large helping for several minutes until an incredulous Brackenreid caught him in the act. The inspector was so stunned that he couldn't find the words to express himself. Murdoch finished the drink and left the station house in search of Julia again. She was surprised, yet delighted to see him back so soon. With a mischievous smirk he led her into the cold room and then proceeded to take their relationship to the next level. Or at least he tried to.

"William, are you inebriated?" she asked as he attempted to undo her corset through her blouse.

"Does it matter if I am?" he replied, peppering her neck with kisses.

"Yes, it most certainly does! I don't want our first time to be a drunken romp surrounded by corpses!"

"Just close your eyes then, Julia."

She pushed him off of her and glared at him. "William Murdoch, what on earth has gotten into you? Just because I have decided to stay does _not_ give you the right to have your way with me whenever you want!"

And then she was gone and he hung his head, thoroughly ashamed of his behaviour. He went home to sleep it off and awoke to Tuesday again.

* * *

Today he behaved like a gentleman to everyone and did his best to achieve a happy ending. No one had died by the time he was preparing to face off against Sally Pendrick and he was feeling pretty good about the prospect of seeing Wednesday tomorrow.

The chase began, he pursued until Carnackie fired. The death ray went up in flames. This time he dashed off of the cart in search of Sally. In order to have survived the blast she must have dived off at the last second. This meant she couldn't be far ahead of him. He searched frantically with the flashlight he brought along for the ride and quickly located a path in the tall grass here. It appeared to be fresh so he pursued its course for several minutes. The path suddenly forked and he took the left route. He never found her.

The next day he took the right route and a little while later he spotted her in the distance. She noticed her tail and picked up the pace. Murdoch kept up and was closing when she whirled around and shot him in the heart!

An unknown time later he woke up in his bed. It was Tuesday again.

_Interesting_, he thought vaguely. _Apparently even if I die the day restarts. _

Not for the first time he concluded he was definitely in purgatory.

* * *

Today he decided to go to church. With any luck Father O'Leary would be able to shed some light on this untenable matter.

He crossed himself in the confessional. "Forgive me father for I have sinned. It's been...five days since my last confession."

_More like twenty-five but who's counting. _He did his best not to laugh in his misery.

"Unburden yourself my son."

Diving right in he said, "Father, I believe myself stuck in purgatory."

There was a silence. "Purgatory, William? You think you are dead?"

"It's the only explanation for my current torment. I've been living the same day over and over again for twenty days."

Another lengthy silence. "I see. How...unfortunate."

"You don't believe me, do you? You think I'm insane."

Silence.

"In any case, I was wondering if you might have any suggestions as to how I can move on."

"To Heaven?"

"Yes."

"William, the purification process has no fixed time limit. It will take as long as it takes. There is little one can do to speed up one's ascension to Heaven."

Murdoch sighed. "I was afraid you would say that. Father, I am at my wits end. I don't know what to do! I don't know what I've done wrong to end up here in the first place! And the longer I stay in this infernal place, the harder it becomes not to sin with the woman I love. In fact, I have contemplated the act many times since becoming stuck. I am very close to giving in. I have quite convinced myself it does not matter anymore."

"Stay strong my son. This is just another trial you must face. Do not give into temptation or all is lost. You will never ascend if you become a heathen and live a life of debauchery."

Murdoch sighed once more and received instructions for his absolution.


	3. Chapter 3

**KTG, it's not THAT hard to follow, is it?**

**Rather angsty chapter I'm afraid. I've added a bit of silliness though.  
**

* * *

This Tuesday everything had gone exactly right. No one had died, not even Carnackie, James Pendrick was exonerated, the death ray was destroyed, Sally Pendrick was apprehended and before he went to bed he visited Julia at her home and told her not to leave for Buffalo. They had the emotionally draining sterility conversation yet again and again he assured her of his feelings to which she took great joy. They fell asleep together on the couch. When he next awoke he was back in his own bed.

_Oh for the love of..._

* * *

Murdoch was listless for the next few Tuesdays. He simply stayed in his room and pouted and occasionally drank from the leftover absinthe bottle of last year. Each day the following people came to check up on him in the same exact order. Mrs. Kitchen, then George, then Brackenreid, then Julia herself. He didn't want to see any of them though so he refused entrance to all. Brackenreid always threatened to fire him if he didn't open the door and help apprehend James Pendrick. Murdoch always told him to scram. Julia always begged him to tell her what was wrong but he never responded.

After three days of this he decided he wanted to try something he had never tried before. He decided he was going to masturbate today. It was considered only a minor sin and therefore he didn't think it would affect his chances of ascending. Besides, as far as he was concerned the task was hopeless. It didn't matter what he did or didn't do, he was going to be perpetually stuck here.

The mechanics were simple enough to figure out and Murdoch pleasured himself and felt wonderful for the first time in a long time. He could well understand now why there were a lot of chronic masturbators at the asylum. Then he was overcome with shame and crawled into his bed again and tried to go back to sleep. But even with laudanum he couldn't, so he forced himself to go outside.

He walked around town for what felt like hours not really paying attention to anything. Eventually a constable came and escorted him back home. It was only then he realized he had never gotten dressed that morning and was still clothed in his pyjamas. You would have thought he had gone walking in the nude by many of the ladies reactions to his attire.

* * *

On this Tuesday he rode around on his bicycle all day. What had started out as a normal ride turned into something quite the opposite. Distracted by his dour mood he had accidentally piloted his craft directly off of a ramp used for heavy wheelbarrows of coal and gone tumbling. He patted himself down to find he was unharmed, (not that it mattered) dusted off his homburg and then decided to try that again. This time he just barely managed to land the jump and some young boys came over to see what this well dressed adult was doing. After another successful attempt they began cheering him on and several other boys rushed to get their bicycles to join in the fun. By noon there was quite the crowd of youngsters and adults alike and the constabulary was called in for disturbing the peace.

"Sir!?" exclaimed Worseley. "What are you doing?! The inspector has been-"

"Come on lads!" he yelled at the boys on bicycles. "Let's go!"

"Yes, sir!" said several of them.

"You'll never catch us coppers!" said another, as they left the police in their wake.

The bicycle gang with Murdoch as their leader rode around town to various different locations trying to jump off of various different obstacles. He couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun, felt so free. Unfortunately as is the way of things, one of the boys took a particularly bad fall, promptly bringing an end to the gaiety. Still, he would cherish the day for as long as he could remember.

* * *

As he was walking down the streets of Toronto on this Tuesday, he came across a charismatic preacher of hell and sin. There were a few interested people hanging on his every word. When the preacher said, "There is no greater horror than eternal damnation," Murdoch jumped up beside him on the soap box, half pushing him off and gazed at everyone very intensely. "This man speaks the absolute truth!" he said maniacally. "There_ is_ a hell and I am currently living in it!"

The people there shared looks.

"But you are all damned already!" he continued, jabbing a finger in each of their directions. One of them backed away from him. "It doesn't matter how devout you are! You will end up in hell no matter what you do in life! So sin to your hearts content my friends! Rejoice in your darkest passions and-"

"Sir!" said the preacher in a mortified manner. "You are speaking nonsense! And scaring away my flock! Please go away or I will be forced to call the constabulary!"

Murdoch focused on his face and some sense returned. He nodded once and left.

* * *

Today was one of his angry days. He tossed his apartment to the great distress of his landlady and other tenants and then stormed out and raced his bicycle to the station house. It was still very early and very few constables were in for the day. This made it easy for him to access the armoury and leave again without anyone really noticing.

He bicycled to the location that the biding for the death ray was taking place in and opened fire. No one had been expecting such an assault so he slaughtered them all with aplomb. Horrified with what he had done he immediately went to beg for absolution. Murdoch cried himself to sleep.

* * *

In the morning he felt surprisingly refreshed, as if a little mayhem was just what the doctor had ordered. Thinking of doctors he went to see Julia after purchasing the engagement ring for the fifth time.

"William, I didn't think I'd see you under the circumstances."

By now that line came across as white noise to him. Without any preamble he said, "Julia, let's elope."

"Elope, William?" she gasped, mouth hanging open. "We aren't even engaged!"

"You're right." He bent down and pulled out the case, "Julia Ogden will you marry me?"

"I- I can't," she said looking away, tears filling her eyes.

"You're upset about your sterility." Her eyes snapped to his. "I'm perfectly fine with it. And no, I didn't interrogate Isaac for the truth. So," he said with a smile, "will you consent to become my wife?"

She stared at him dumbfounded and then nodded vigorously. He stood up and popped on the ring. Then he brought her in for a searing kiss. He grabbed a breathless Julia by the hand and speed them over to the nearest church.

Once they got there she pulled him to a halt and said, "William, I really think we should talk about where this is heading. This is all so...sudden." She put a hand to his chest. "Is everything all right? You are acting very strangely. Don't you have an important case to attend to?"

"The constabulary knows everything they need to know," he replied lying, trying to tug her down the aisle. She kept resisting him though, stubborn woman!

"William, what aren't you telling me? You seem to know all of my secrets, so I think it only fair you confide yours to me."

Twice he had told her the truth when he desperately needed a confidant and her response was invariably the same. She would laugh, then become nervous and laugh some more and then angry when he persisted in his 'delusion' and finally she would leave him until he came back to his senses. Murdoch didn't feel like going through that again so he left her standing there. She chased after him and demanded to know what was going on.

"There's no point, Julia. You won't believe me. You never do."

"Never do? You make it sound as though we've had this conversation before!"

Murdoch couldn't help but laugh in a hysterical manner and Julia backed away from him to a safe distance. Then she cautiously approached, looking very concerned and took his hand. "William, please tell me what is going on. You're scaring me."

"All right, Julia, I will, since you asked so politely." He took her to a bench before delivering the fatal blow. "I've lost count now but I believe this is about the fiftieth September eleventh that I have consecutively lived through."

Cue the laugh. There it is. Julia gave him a nervous look. "You're not making any sense, William. Such a thing is not possible."

Unlike the previous times he told her he had a sudden inspiration as to how to make her believe him. Recently he had spent an entire Tuesday just stalking her every movement.

"Indeed it is, Julia and I can prove it." She just stared at him wide eyed and uneasy. "At precisely eight twelve you arrived to work." Her posture stiffened. "You were a bit late because your annoying neighbour caught you up in conversation and you couldn't think of a polite excuse to rid yourself of them. Then at eight sixteen you fed your goldfish. At eight twenty-two you played a new record you purchased a few days ago called _Midnight Memories._ You played the third song twice in a row because you love it so much. At eight thirty-four you sat down to read _Pride and Prejudice_. At eight forty-five your assistant asked you if you would care for some Earl Grey tea. At-"

"Stop, just stop." She was moving away from him again.

Murdoch smiled sadly. "You still don't believe me I see."

"How can I, William?! What you are suggesting is utterly preposterous!"

He nodded once. "Goodbye Julia."

He stood up to leave but she had grabbed his hand again. "Tell me everything, William. I _need_ to understand."

"I can't Julia, that would take the whole day and by then it would be too late."

"Fine then, just tell me what you deem necessary."

"All right." He sat back down and gave her a heavily edited version of events. This was probably for the best considering he wasn't overly proud of some of things he had done. By the end of it she was in tears.

"If what you say is true then you have suffered terribly. I can't imagine reliving the same horrific day over and over again. It would have driven me insane."

"Oh, I've gone mad a few times, Julia," he said in a chipper manner, smiling.

"And you've tried everything you can think of to make it to Wednesday?"

"Well, perhaps not everything...but at a certain point one tends to give up. Constant failure is rather demoralizing."

There was a silence. "So you thought that if we wed _today_, Wednesday would arrive?"

He shrugged. "At the very least it is something I haven't done before."

She seemed to be deciding something very seriously. "All right then. Let's get married. Do you have the wedding rings as well?"

"Yes."

Murdoch smiled pleasantly as he led her back to the church. He spoke with the minister who gave them a rather disapproving stare, lingering on Julia's tear streaked face and their regular attire, but nodded and then the ceremony commenced.

A short while later they were pronounced man and wife and despite the rushed circumstances they couldn't help but beam at one another. In a laughing manner they went back to Julia's house, dismissed her maid and then made love for several hours. Exploring her body in such an uninhibited way almost made the last fifty days of misery worth it. Almost, but not quite.

For a very late lunch he fixed them some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"I never took you for a gourmet," she said in a teasing manner as he laid the dish on her bedside table.

He smiled and said, "I thought the occasion called for something special."

She took a bite, and mouth full said, "It's delicious."

They just stared at one another until he started to laugh. She laughed too and then coughed. And coughed some more. He was about to whack her on the back but she raised a hand and swallowed. "I'm fine, William, but I could do with some more water."

Murdoch refreshed her drink and then they cuddled up to one another to enjoy their first meal together as a married couple. While they ate she said, "So...if heaven forbid tomorrow is still Tuesday," she eyed him evilly, "does that mean you will be a virgin again?"

It was Murdoch's turn to choke on his food and require a large helping of water. "I don't know, Julia." He frowned. "Well, I suppose I would be. Any time I've gotten physically injured the wound is gone the next day. I'll remember every second of our time together though," he said kissing her bare shoulder and making his way diagonally down.

She didn't appear to be enjoying his attentions like the previous times so he stopped. His wife was very thoughtful looking and clearly far removed from him.

"Julia?"

"Why do you suppose you are the only person who can remember the repeating days?"

Murdoch wasn't in the mood to get into his thoughts on purgatory or reveal to her that he thought he was dead, so he simply said, "There could be a great many reasons."

"Such as?"

"Do you really want to discuss this during our wedding night?"

"Of course not, William, but this could be important. Perhaps if you understood why you have been singled out for this most extraordinary adventure you would be assured of reaching Wednesday."

To him this meant ascending to heaven and leaving her behind forever. Currently he wasn't very keen to figure things out. If every day could be like this he was all right with a perpetual limbo.

"Don't you desire to move on with your life?"

Murdoch didn't respond.

"William?"

"Yesterday...more than anything." He cupped her breast. "Today I find myself enjoying rather exquisite company."

"_William_," she said sternly, swatting his hand away, "stay focused!" She stood up and put a robe on. He pouted like a little boy who had his favourite toy taken away. "There must be a reason why this is happening to you. Surely you have thought about it at great length."

In a dour mood he said, "Certainly, Julia." She kept looking at him pointedly. He sighed and proceeded to tell her his theory.

She was in tears again. "You believe yourself dead?"

He didn't respond.

Julia placed a hand to his face. "Does that not feel real to you?"

He didn't respond.

"Or this?" she said, giving him a kiss.

He didn't respond.

"William, answer me!"

He didn't respond.

Julia began hitting him in the chest over and over again, tears freely flowing. He made no attempt to stop her.

"You're alive, William! Why can't you believe that?! Don't let your faith cloud your judgement! This isn't purgatory! I am here with you right now!" She slapped him hard across the face, "So wake up!"

His wife looked very apologetic. "Oh William, I am so sorry, I didn't-"

Murdoch stood up and began to get dressed. "What are you doing?"

He put on his shoes. "Where are you going?" She got of bed and grabbed his arm when he headed towards the door. "Stop this at once and talk to me!"

Murdoch simply shook her off and went outside. She followed him in nothing but her robe. She ran in front of him and tried to forcibly stop him by pushing all her weight against him. Many people stopped and stared at the spectacle before them.

"William, _please_!"

Murdoch sighed and sat down on the sidewalk. Julia joined him and took his hands. They simply stared at one another for awhile. Pedestrians that weren't gawking gave them a wide berth.

"You can't be dead, William," she said squeezing his hands.

"Why not, Julia?"

"Because_ I_ know I am alive! And if _I_ am alive, you must be too!"

"How do you know you are alive?"

Julia bit her lip and then defiantly said, "I _choose_ to believe so. And you need to as well!"

Murdoch smiled. "How can a living man die and then be resurrected the next day, Julia? We both know I am not the next messiah."

"Foolish man!" she burst out suddenly, surprising him a great deal. "It is _not_ the next day! It is always the _same_ day! If you were alive on Tuesday you will _always_ be alive on Tuesday no matter what happens that day! Time is simply reset!"

"But how is that possible unless this," he gestured around himself, "is not real?"

She was silent for a long time and he was quite sure he had won the debate.

"Real is just a matter of perception."

"Pardon me?"

"Just because you are experiencing time differently than the rest of us does not mean that this is not real! You've been so focused on your one theory for so long that you blinded yourself to any other possibilities! If you figure out what you are meant to do on this day, you will _not_ go to Heaven, you will simply make it to Wednesday."

"And what if you are wrong?"

"I am not wrong." Julia stood up and held out her hand. "Now, come with me and we will figure this out together."

Murdoch hesitated for some time before accepting her hand. They went back into her house and immediately began discussing what he had tried and what that left him with to try.

Then she hit him with the greatest shock to his senses yet. "What if your purpose in reliving Tuesday has nothing to do with me, or destroying the death ray? What if you are meant to do something completely unrelated to yourself?"

"I never considered that possibility." He frowned. "But if you are right, Julia," he said shaking his head in despair, "this task is impossible."

"No it is not," she said, lifting his chin up so their eyes met. "You would not be reliving this day if you were not up to the task. Whatever...or whoever has chosen you for this purpose knows you will succeed."

"Couldn't God have assisted me a bit more than He has?"

"Perhaps that is what He is doing right now?"

Murdoch smiled and embraced her. She held him tightly. "I love you, Julia."

"And I you. There is only an hour until sunrise. What do you say we make the most of it?"

"I'd like nothing more."

* * *

**Be honest now, how many of you thought he would wake up in a hospital bed when she slapped him? ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**KTG: Ha, no, not necessary...this time.  
**

* * *

This Tuesday Murdoch kept his ears peeled for any unusual gossip that might be of relevance to him. No one at the station house seemed to be of use so he directed his attentions to the morning paper. He scanned it carefully back to front but didn't find anything. Not that he had really expected to find anything. As far as he was aware there were no great public events scheduled for today that could or had gone horribly wrong. By now he would have already heard of such a thing ten times over. No, he suspected that what was of interest to him was a seemingly insignificant event that in actuality had vast and far reaching implications for the future.

Murdoch picked up the evening paper after a rather fruitless day. On the third page there was a small article about a young man who had been tragically run over by a carriage. Without laws that governed road traffic, such a thing was unfortunately fairly common, but there was something about this story that stuck out to him. The further he read, the stranger the story became and the more he was convinced this is what he was meant to do, this was who he was meant to save.

Apparently no one knew who the young man was or where he had come from. Witnesses said he was acting strangely before the accident, speaking gibberish and looking as if he was astonished by his surroundings. And then someone had called out to him to warn him of his impending death but he hadn't heeded the man in the slightest and was hit on the corner of Yonge and Bloor Street West at approximately 7:04 in the morning.

This location was around three kilometres from his boarding house and since he awoke at precisely 6:51 every morning, (when the sun rose) he had exactly enough time to dress and prevent this tragedy from occurring if he raced there on his bicycle.

It seemed a simple enough matter which made Murdoch instantly suspicious that it would turn into the greatest headache he had ever had.

* * *

The next Tuesday he hopped out of bed and dressed within three minutes. He had precisely ten minutes to rescue this young man. Murdoch peddled as hard as he could, quickly feeling the burn in his thighs but ignoring it and made it to the corner with time to spare. Except the accident had already occurred.

_Confound it!_

He checked his pocket watch and saw it was only 7:03...the article was apparently off by an entire minute which was going to make matters that much more difficult for him. Murdoch thought it necessary to examine the body, just in case it held any useful information to aid in his quest.

The young man looked to be around twenty, clean shaven with short dark hair. He didn't appear to be anything remarkable but clearly (at least in Murdoch's mind) he was, extremely so. Murdoch checked his pockets for his wallet but couldn't find one. It appeared this John Doe would remain unidentified until the Tuesday Murdoch finally saved him.

It must have been dreadful dying every day for fifty-two straight days...or at least it _would_ have been if the man could have remembered...but if he had, it wouldn't have happened twice.

Since no one had claimed the body, it was taken down to the morgue _before_ Julia had come in and stored in the cold room until either someone did claim it or she was forced to have it laid in an unmarked pauper's grave. Which meant that this very John Doe had been present that Tuesday he had gotten drunk and tried to seduce Julia!

Not exactly his finest hour. Murdoch shook the thought off and spoke with the carriage driver to get his version of events. The driver admitted that he had partially fallen asleep at the rein after a long night shift and that he felt just horrible about what had happened. With everything he had learned, Murdoch was convinced this was simply an accident and not an intentional murder.

Now that he was sure this is what he was meant to do, he didn't see the point in going through the motions at the station house until he _did_ succeed in saving this man. So he spent the rest of the morning reading some medical journals on the beach and then went for a swim afterwards.

On his way back into the city, he noticed some boys attempting to climb a large tree but being too small to reach the first branch.

"What seems to be the trouble, boys?"

"Michael's gotten our ball stuck in the tree..." the red haired child glared at the black haired one, "again!"

"Did not!" retorted Michael. "It was the wind's fault this time!"

The red haired boy was about to bicker some more so Murdoch interjected. "I'll retrieve your ball for you."

They looked at him doubtfully. "Aren't you a little old...sir?"

Murdoch laughed as he removed his suit jacket and hung it over a low hanging branch of a different tree. "I used to climb trees all the time when I was a logger." He rubbed his hands together. "This should be a simple enough task."

It was not as simple as he had anticipated. Being out of practice and without his climbing gear, it took him at least ten minutes to reach the branch that the ball had gotten stuck in. By this time he had scraped a good portion of skin off his hands on the unusually tough bark. He ignored the sting and proceeded to edge out onto the branch. First he tested the structural integrity by only putting a bit of weight on it. Reassured he eased himself across it and picked up the ball.

A bird flew directly at him and he lost his balance falling thirty feet to his death.

* * *

On this Tuesday he dressed within two minutes and rushed out the door. He yelled at the man down the street to watch out, echoed immediately afterwards by a similar ejaculation from another gentleman, but John Doe walked blindly to his death.

* * *

This Tuesday he dressed in one minute, which is to say not properly at all, without his many buttoned vest buttoned up and his shirt hanging out of his trousers in a most disreputable manner. Murdoch made it to the corner shortly before the accident occurred, jumped off his bicycle and bodily pushed John Doe out of the way, looking for all his worth like a deranged lunatic. A split second later he was run over instead.

* * *

Today he forwent dressing all together and jumped on his bicycle still clad in his red pyjamas. He was pedalling so furiously that he appeared as a flash to curious onlookers. Murdoch was doubled over by the time he made it to the corner but this time John Doe had yet to make it here and when he did Murdoch grabbed his arm and told him to stop. John Doe was yelling at him in a foreign tongue and struggling. They grappled for a time and then John Doe fell into the street and was run over.

* * *

On this Tuesday Murdoch stayed in his pyjamas, dashed to the scene of the accident, got alongside the carriage itself and using a rock he had picked up beforehand threw it at the half asleep driver. The man fell out of his vehicle with a yelp, and the horse continued on, crushing John Doe soundly.

* * *

Murdoch went about half way there on his bicycle until he spotted an untethered horse by a carriage. He quickly stole the horse and galloped the rest of the way to the intersection. He located John Doe and fumbled for the lasso he had noticed earlier in the saddle. Putting his ranch skills to good use, he whirled the rope around his head a few times and then released. For a second his heart stopped when it looked like it wasn't going to reach, but then it did and he pulled on it a little harder than he needed to. John Doe flew off his feet in a rather reminiscent way to a bounty hunter the previous year and collided heavily to the ground. Not wanting to chance anything, Murdoch kept a firm hold of the rope. A few moments later the reckless carriage driver careened through the intersection and crashed into a tree.

_Finally!_

He was so ecstatic over completing this frustrating task that he started hooting gleefully like a moron over the unconscious John Doe. Some people were staring at him and his red pyjamas in a funny manner but most were more concerned with the state of the carriage driver.

John Doe glared at him from the ground and held the back of his head. He said something unintelligible but it was obviously not very friendly.

"My sincerest apologies, sir, but it was for your own good."

They simply stared at one another, Murdoch somewhat giddily and John Doe rather dourly.

"Do you speak any English, sir?"

The man just stared at him.

"I thought not." He pointed to himself and said, "My name is Detective William Murdoch." He pointed to the man. "What is your name?"

The man just stared at him.

_Apparently he's not that bright. Hmm, how can I get through to him?_

John Doe suddenly started violently struggling against his restraints like a snake and jabbering away and finally Murdoch clued in that it was German he was speaking.

_Hodge speaks German!_

The problem now was getting John Doe to come with him to the station house. Fortunately at this very moment the constabulary had arrived to deal with the accident and he called one of the two constables over.

"Detective Murdoch?!" exclaimed an incredulous Worseley, looking him up and down atop the horse.

"Never mind my attire Worseley." He held out the rope. "Please escort this young man down to the station house. I will be along as soon as I can." He eyed Worseley intensely. "Keep a close eye on him, constable, he's prone to injury."

"Yes, sir."

Murdoch galloped back to the place he had stolen the horse from. The owner ran out of his house to yell at him but he picked up his bicycle and left before much abuse had been bestowed. Back at the boarding house he clothed himself impeccably and then made his way to station house four.

"Sir," said Worseley, "he's in the holding cell, and none too pleased about it."

_I'd imagine not._

"Hodge, come with me."

The older man obeyed and they both went into the cells. John Doe scowled at him but didn't speak.

"Hodge, this gentleman only seems to speak German. Please tell him I am sorry for assaulting him but that it was necessary to save his life."

"All right, sir." Hodge directed his attention to John Doe.

John Doe perked right up and clasped the bars. A maniacal light was shining in his eyes as he jabbered away some more.

"What did he say, Hodge?"

Hodge gave him a wary look.

"He said his name is Albert Einstein, sir. And that he lives in Switzerland and that he doesn't know how he ended up in this Godforsaken place. One moment he was out to lunch and the next he was here."

_Einstein? Who the devil is Einstein?_

Einstein said something else.

"He wants to know what country he is in. Should I tell him, sir?"

"By all means."

Hodge told him and Einstein's eyes widened accordingly. He asked another question.

"Sir," said Hodge looking doubtfully at the somewhat crazed man grasping the bars, "now he wants to know what _year_ it is."

Murdoch simply nodded. The constable informed their guest it was 1897. This was the first piece of information that seemed to calm the man down. Einstein smiled and sat on the edge of his bunk. He muttered something.

"He says he is relieved that the year is still the same."

"Very good, Hodge, very good indeed," he said also smiling. Hodge gave him a funny look. "Do not for any reason let him go. No harm must come to him today."

Murdoch checked his pocket watch, it was now close to seven forty. Tesla and George would be hammering away at the metal reflectors in about twenty minutes time. Now all he had to do was manage to get through the day again and Wednesday should finally arrive. While he could take a shortcut and apprehend Sally and Carnackie right now, he decided it best to simply let events play out how they had that first Tuesday...more or less.

Everything had gone as it normally did and he decided he would force himself to go see Julia at the morgue before confronting Sally Pendrick and the death ray machine.

"William, I didn't think I'd see you under the circumstances."

He took her hands. "I had to see you Julia, to tell you that I love you and always will love you and nothing could ever change that. Please tell me why you are leaving."

She glanced away. "Very well." Her tearful confession ensued. "William, please say something."

He kissed her hands. "Julia, all I need is you. We can adopt."

She started to sob and he was taken aback but he quickly realized she was just very happy. They embraced for a few seconds and then George came in to inform him that they had located Sally Pendrick.

"Be careful," she whispered in his ear.

He nodded once and followed George out.

Wearily he changed for the night and crawled into bed. Murdoch was anxious to close his eyes, afraid that he was still missing something and that the day would restart for the fifty-eighth time...or worse still, that he would end up in Heaven and never see Julia again.

Finally he had no choice and his eyes drooped closed with firm finality.

* * *

The alarm clock went off and he hesitated to open his eyes. As if preparing himself to receive an injection, he scrunched his face up and looked in the direction of his desk.

The blueprints were gone!

They were really gone!

The bloody blueprints were gone!

His face went through a comic transformation and then he exulted like he had done yesterday at the top of his lungs. Shelley's dog Baxtor from down the hall howled enthusiastically in reply as if they were two wolves having a demented conversation.

Murdoch prepared himself for the glorious day ahead as fast as he could and then bounded down the stairs and gave a startled Mrs. Kitchen a peck on the cheek.

He was up so early that he bicycled to Julia's house and pounded on the door until she opened it.

"William?" she said incredulously, still in her nightgown, hair partially done up.

Murdoch laughed at her startled expression and then picked her up and swung her around a bit.

"William! My hair! You are ruining my hair!"

He put her back down and kissed her. "It's Wednesday, Julia!" he exploded several decibels louder than normal. "It's finally Wednesday! You are the most brilliant person I have ever met!"

She gave him a concerned expression. Hand to his chest, "Are you all right?"

In response he pulled her close and kissed her some more. Without her corset and voluminous skirts to get in the way, it was the closest contact they had ever had with one another in this time line. The sweet memories of only a week ago were quickly resurfacing and he knew he had to back off or he would forget himself completely.

They broke apart and he noticed how flushed she was. He probably wasn't much better.

"Meet me under our tree in two hours time."

She nodded slowly, mouth slightly ajar.

* * *

Before he headed to _Mandel's Fine Jewelry_ to procure the ruby ring for the sixth time, he went to the station house to release Albert Einstein, praying that once he did, time would never repeat itself again.

"How is our wayward traveller this fine morning, Hodge?"

"Sir, about that..."

Murdoch was so happy he didn't notice the tone of the constable's voice and simply pushed his way into the holding cells.

They were empty.

Hodge had followed him in and Murdoch calmly said, "Is Mr. Einstein being escorted to the water closet by any chance?"

"No, sir. The nightwatchman says he just vanished without a trace!"

"At approximately sunrise?"

Hodge was bewildered. "How did you know?"

Murdoch smiled again and said, "Very good, Hodge, very good indeed."

* * *

**I'm curious, did my little 'finest hour' remark lead anyone to think John Doe was Churchill? ;D  
**


End file.
